Fun Without Dick and Jane: Your Guide to a Delightfully Empty Nest

Author: Christie Mellor
Publisher: Chronicle Books

Is $200 an hour too much to spend for exam tutoring? Is moving to an apartment near my daughter’s campus a valid option? If I don’t send a care package, does it mean I don’t care? How can I get my son to stay in touch without resorting to begging?!

These questions are on every parent’s mind as they face the moment they’ve been preparing for since pre-school enrollment: sending their little darling off to college. Luckily for them, Christie Mellor—bestselling author of The Three-Martini Playdate—has bestowed her trademark wit and wisdom with her new book, FUN WITHOUT DICK AND JANE: Your Guide to a Delightfully Empty Nest.

Christie Mellor came to us for a full book publicity campaign which  includes radio, TV, online and print. Our radio team was able to secure interviews for Christie on numerous networks and stations including:

• Lifestyle Radio Network
• Radio America
• WZLX-FM/Boston MA
• WMJI-FM/Cleveland OH
• Northeast Public Radio

and many more.

Newman’s National Team was able to secure many blogs for our author as well as The Huffington Post and an appearance on The Today Show.

Mellor understands that letting go is not an easy thing to do, however she believes that an empty nest can equal a newly fulfilled life. In FUN WITH DICK AND JANE, she provides wise council on how to:

• Deal with the house being too clean and too quiet
• Admit the things you may not miss about your little angel
• Rediscover your lost interests and find new goals
• Rekindle the romantic flame with your partner
• Step back out into social circles
• Say sayonara to “Mrs. Minivan”
• Run away from home
• Figure out what to do when the children come home to roost. Because they will, for holidays, breaks, and possibly for years after graduation.

Even if parents spent some quality time considering what life will be like once the darlings have left, they should still expect a bit of an adjustment period when the child actually does fly the coop. But when that time comes, FUN WITHOUT DICK AND JANE encourages readers to be so thrilled about what they are doing with their own lives that the thought of their children moving on to a next chapter will only be a source of joy, pride, and excitement about the great adventure that awaits.

Celebrate the jubilation. Be ready to honor the grief. And then move on—happily—to the next part of life.

About the Author:

While pursuing a happy life that includes an interesting husband and two almost-always pleasant children, Christie became a vociferous cheerleader for the “other kind of parenthood,” the anti-perfection, you-deserve-a-life kind. Her first book, The Three-Martini Playdate was a harbinger of a new trend for today’s beleaguered parents, helping them to withstand the unceasing and overbearing good advice and pressure to raise perfect, highly enriched offspring, She continued the thread with The Three-Martini Family Vacation, also with Chronicle Books. Raised by Wolves: Clues to the Mysteries of Adulthood, (Harper/Collins) was a book designed for the adult child whose parents did not read The Three Martini Playdate. Next came You Look Fine, Really, a book celebrating women over a “certain age.” Fun Without Dick and Jane – Your Guide to a Delightfully Empty Nest, is her latest helpful guide for parents, a bookend to the “Three-Martini” books.

Christie’s rants have been published in Great Britain in The Guardian, Junior Magazine, and the Sunday Express; in Australia’s Sunday Life Magazine, and on the Huffington Post. She’s been heard on Britain’s BBC radio and American Public Radio’s Marketplace, in addition to being reviewed, interviewed, and quoted in Newsweek, Playboy, Us Magazine, The New York Times, People, and other publications. She also can be heard singing her bitter little heart out each week at the historic Culver Hotel in Los Angeles, where she and her band Doozy play Depression-era music and vintage originals. Please visit her colorful website, at christiemellor.com.

Visit our site at Newman Communications for more Book Publicity information and services.

Colbert’s America: Satire and Democracy

Author: Sophia McClennen
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Colbert’s America
Sophia McClennen

Newman Communications client, Sophia McClennen and her new book, Colbert’s America: Satire and Democracy (Palgrave Macmillan) have been causing quite the media buzz.

Professor at Penn State, McClennen examines how the comedy of Stephen Colbert packs enough political punch to change the way a nation thinks.

COLBERT’S AMERICA covers the various themes and features of his satire and gives readers insight into the powerful ways that Colbert’s comedy challenges the cult of ignorance that has been threatening meaningful public debate since 9/11.

McClennen suggests that Colbert does more than mock pundits and politicians: he actually has helped influence a new generation of actively involved citizens. Satire offers the public a medium through which to express resistance to reigning political policies and social attitudes.  But Colbert’s satire goes even further, offering viewers myriad ways to engage with society.

Paul Farhi’s Washington Post article sparked the debate of whether or not Colbert should a worthy topic for academia.  His article has received more than 500 comments and been picked up across the country.

The Atlantic Wire and Newsbusters have both chimed into the debate as well.  McClennen has taken to The Huffington Post to share her thoughts on the debate and spoke with TVNewser.com.

McClennen argues that Colbert is a “new kind of public intellectual-satirist,” much like Mark Twain, Ben Franklin and Jonathan Swift and therefore worthy of our attention.

Newman Communications asks:   Should Colbert be studied in college?

Discuss.

Visit our site at Newman Communications for more Book Publicity information and services.

The Trust

Author:  Norb Vonnegut
Publisher:  Minotaur Books

The Trust
Norb Vonnegut

Norb Vonnegut returns to Newman Communications for his third novel, THE TRUST (Minotaur Books, July 2012). Having worked with Vonnegut for book publicity and promotion on THE GODS OF GREENWICH , Newman Communications is pleased to have him back with his much anticipated newest release.

Every one of Vonnegut’s novels has a big idea grounded in reality.  THE TRUST shows how some financial criminals hide behind the First Amendment–specifically freedom of religion. The idea for the story traces back to an incident when Pablo Escobar’s first cousin tried to open an account with Vonnegut’s PWM team at Morgan Stanley.

Having worked on Wall Street for twenty years, Vonnegut (cousin of the late Kurt) is more than qualified to tell the tale. He combines his wealth management expertise and intuitive, darkly humorous writing into a fast-talking, suspense thriller that burrows inside the world of big-money philanthropy.

The book publicity and reviews are piling in and the consensus is unanimous;  Vonnegut has a winner in THE TRUST:

• The New York Times says THE TRUST is “money-porn beach reading.”

“Norb Vonnegut is the seriously underappreciated author of three glittery thrillers about fiscal malfeasance. This may not sound like a red-hot franchise, but he has made it one. With “Top Producer” (2009), “The Gods of Greenwich” (2011) and now “The Trust,” he is three for three in his own improbably sexy genre.

“Mr. Vonnegut dreams up diabolically elegant business crimes, then sends smart-talking characters to follow the money. He draws upon his own Wall Street experience (with Morgan Stanley, among other employers) to provide the sound of insider acumen. “I’ve had 14 managers over the last 10 years,” Grove O’Rourke says at the start of the new book. Grove was the stockbroker hero of “Top Producer,” and now he’s back for an encore.”

• Associated Press writes: “Vonnegut turns out crisp prose and delightful conversations that move the reader from one exciting event to another.”   (July 16, 2012)
• Publisher’s Weekly:  “Drawing on his own years on Wall Street, Vonnegut (Kurt’s fourth cousin) bolsters this efficient thriller with credible financial and legal detail while offering in Biscuit a colorful foil to his rather stolid hero”
• Forbes.com shares Vonnegut’s journey from Wall Street to writer.
• Kirkus Reviews:  “Mommas, don’t let your sons grow up to be Manhattan brokers or board members of charitable foundations. They’d never survive the combination    of criminal plots and personal threats…    A fast and furious novel from Vonnegut and a guaranteed good time.”

Vonnegut will hold book signings and events in New York City, Rhode Island (his current home town), Connecticut, and in North Carolina where part of The Trust takes place  and in Charleston, South Carolina, Vonnegut’s childhood home and the  setting for much of The Trust.

Visit our site at Newman Communications for more Book Publicity information and services.

S.E.T. Culture: What Every Organization Needs to Know Before Crises Occur

Author: Dr. Ken J. Brumfield

S.E.T Culture
Dr. Ken J. Brumfield

Here at Newman Communications, we constantly have one ear tuned to the latest breaking news. While a book is the primary focus of any book promotion campaign, we also pride ourselves in thinking outside the box (or the book page!) and angling our authors as the topical experts they already are. Therefore, we are often hearing about the various and persistent crises and thinking: how did they let it get this far?

Dr. Ken J. Brumfield’s new book, “S.E.T. Culture: What Every Organization Needs to Know Before Crises Occur” seeks to solve that problem before it even arises, by is suggesting something different than most crisis analysts: lets look at the Senior Executive Team’s (S.E.T.’s) Culture and how it effects middle managers’ decision making during crises. Dr. Brumfield’s research and tactics are both timely and evergreen, and can be applied to breaking news such as the Penn State Trial or your local up-and-coming small business. The unique take is starting to make an impact with the media.

About the Book:

S.E.T. Culture is useful for all business types, including businesses operating in corporate America, governmental agencies, religious organizations, colleges and universities, and other nonprofit organizations. It will assist individuals with making critical decisions and acting decisively in a crisis, especially when there is the potential for loss of life or property. For any business or organization looking to successfully rebound from a current or imminent crisis, S.E.T. Culture is an insightful resource that provides all stakeholders with the tools to implement change successfully.

 About the Author:

Dr. Brumfield has a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Arts in Counseling degree from Xavier University and an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from the University of New Orleans. He completed a Doctor of Management degree at the University of Maryland. Dr. Brumfield is a senior management consultant and management professor having worked with such organizations as MDRC, Columbia University’s National Center for Postsecondary Research, Bizlink and other organizations

His expertise helps executives, mid-level managers, and front-line workers identify organizational behaviors, threats, and opportunities that will help their companies and organizations successfully endure and rebound from a crisis.

“LIKE” S.E.T. Culture on Facebook for the latest updates.

Additional information about S.E.T Culture can also be found by visiting the Amazon page.

Visit our site at Newman Communications for more Book Publicity information and services.

Autopsy of War: A personal History

Author: John A. Parrish,M.D.
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press

Autopsy of War
John A Parish

As a book publicity firm, we see lots of books cross our desks here at Newman Communications and some make a strong statement to those of us working them.  This book is no exception, and in fact, it prompted me to make a donation to the USO and tell my friends and colleagues about it. How does a man or woman return from war and resume a “normal” life. How do you deal with the horrors that you have seen during war and transform back to everyday life?  John Parrish’s book, Autopsy of War, shows that it is not an easy task for our returning warriors.  Even with a very successful medical career, Parrish couldn’t shake the PTSD that haunted his every move.  John Parrish came to us for a full book publicity campaign in the hopes that his experience  will reach those most in need of his message, the many soldiers that think they are alone with their anguish. Whether they have lost limbs or the damage is unseen to the eye, the struggle that our returning heroes face is gigantic.

Navy physician John Parrish served in Vietnam, an experience that seared him to the bone.  In the ensuing four decades, Parrish became recognized as one of the most innovative physicians in his field, yet he was tortured by PTSD.  Now, in AUTOPSY OF WAR: A Personal History, Parrish presents a profound and unflinching memoir of a physician’s wartime work in Vietnam and his forty-year struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder.

John’s struggle was highlighted in The Boston Globe interview for their G Section and our radio publicity campaign has garnered many hits including:

• Clearchannel Network & SiriusXM
• Premiere Radio Network – national
• Lifestyle Radio Network – national
  and local radio stations nationwide

When he first arrived in Vietnam, Parrish was a triage doctor, treating as many as thirty patients a day with wounds more destructive and life-altering than anything he had ever encountered.  He did his best but never felt like it was enough.  Dismembered limbs and other body parts flowed through his hands for hours on end, and these tragic triage scenes were not something his mind would ever  forget.  When not working on wounded servicemen, Parrish also tended to patients at a tuberculosis hospital in Hue, which was run by Vietnamese Catholic nuns.  He felt he was doing some good there, until the Tet Offensive brought the Viet Cong to Hue, where they executed the patients because they had been treated by an American doctor, and also killed the nuns for working with Parrish. Parrish would also spend time in the field, which was a particularly difficult time for him, since it was then, says Parrish, that “I felt a duty to find meaning in the war so I could convince myself the dead had not died in vain.”

Although happy to return home to the States, Parrish left Vietnam feeling guilty about leaving behind so much suffering.  He also returned home a different person. He found himself physically and emotionally unavailable to his wife and children, developed an obsession with war books and movies, and over the ensuing years, would suffer harrowing flashbacks.  Fighting the mental devastation of war, Parrish lived virtually homeless at times, visited veterans’ shelters and fled his family while reliving his Vietnam experience over and over again.  Despite the fact that he managed to establish a prominent medical career, few knew how his inner demons took over the rest of his life.  “I found myself increasingly restless, tortured, and lonely,” says Parrish, “never more so than at social events or professional meetings where my peers assumed I was in control.”  The present continued to mingle with the past as haunting images of Vietnam lingered in his mind, until the door to recovery finally opened after years of pain and struggle.

AUTOPSY OF WAR is a soul-searching and intensely personal journey through the world of war and recovery. An honest, moving, and intimate view of one man’s courageous battle to overcome PTSD, it is a highly relevant story today as soldiers return to the U.S. from abroad with challenges to face.  “I accept that there will always be war,” says Parrish, “but I need to believe more can be done to help its victims, specifically the warriors who have left the battlefield but not their personal war.  This book is witness to the power of time, acceptance, self-discovery, hard work, and love in belatedly diminishing one man’s psychic war.”

About the Author:

JOHN A PARRISH, M.D., is the CEO of the Center for the Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT); the CEO of the Red Sox Foundation-Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program (an outreach program to help veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars with PTSD and traumatic brain injury); and Distinguished Professor of Dermatology and former department head at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.  He is the author of 12, 20 & 5: A Doctor’s Year in Vietnam.

To learn more about Autopsy of War please visit:  http://autopsyofwar.com/

Visit our site at Newman Communications for more Book Publicity information and services.

Book Promotion for DREAM BIG:

Dream Big
Deloris Jordan

Author:  Deloris Jordan
Publisher:  Simon and Schuster

Newman Communications is proud to announce that we have just completed a successful book promotion radio (RMT) tour with Deloris Jordan,  mother of NBA legend Michael Jordan.  We previously did the book promotion of her last book MICHAEL’S GOLDEN RULES and it was an absolute pleasure to work with her again.  Her new book, DREAM BIG: MICHAEL JORDAN AND THE PURSUIT OF OLYMPIC GOLD tells the story of Michael Jordan achieving his dream of playing in the Olympics! This new book will have you cheering for Michael again and will get you pumped for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London!

About The Book:

Deloris Jordan,  mother of basketball great Michael Jordan, tells a true story of inspiration, hard work, determination and what it takes to be a champion.  As a child, l0ng before he became a professional All- Star basketball player, Michael Jordan had a big dream of winning an Olympic gold medal while following the 1972 U.S. basketball team- and with dedication and perseverance, that’s exactly what he did. This heartwarming book gives a rare glimpse into a sports hero’s childhood while emphasizing the role that hard work plays in success.

Just in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, DREAM BIG is an inspiration to all. Mrs. Jordan’s family story will inspire children to be champions- both on and off the field.  Barry Roots warm illustrations illuminate this story about what it truly means to be a winner.

Newman Communications was able to secure interviews on such stations as:

• SiriusXM Book Radio
• WLS-AM in Chicago,  IL
• AARP Radio
• WGVU-AM/ FM in Grand Rapids, MI
• WBAL-AM in Baltimore,  MD
• AP Radio Network

About the Author and Illustrator:

Deloris Jordan is Michael Jordan’s mother. Widely regarded as an advocate for children and families,  she does much of her work through the James R. Jordan Foundation.  She is author of Salt in His Shoes and Michael’s Golden Rules, both illustrated by Kadir Nelson. The mother of five children and the grandmother of eleven,  she resides in Chicago, IL.

Barry Root is the illustrator of many books for children, including By My Brother’s Slide, Game Day, and Teammates, all written by Tiki and Ronde Barber with Robert Burleigh. He lives in Quarryville, Pennsylvania with his family.

Visit our site at Newman Communications for more Book Publicity information and services.

Man Made – A Stupid Quest for Masculinity

Man Made – Joel Stein

Author: Joel Stein
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Newman Communications and Joel Stein recently completed a successful radio book promotion campaign for the Time columnist’s new release, Man Made; A Stupid Quest for Masculinity. Newman’s radio book publicity team booked him on several top-market radio stations, inlcuding:

• KABC-AM/Los Angeles CA
• KOA-AM/Denver CO – Listen now
• WLW-AM/Cincinnati OH
• Dial Global Network/nationally syndicated
• WRIF-FM/Detroit MI
• Sirius/XM/nationally syndicated
• KRLD-AM/Dallas TX

In Man Made, Stein’s first book, he writes a hilarious and poignant adventure about the absurdities of modern masculinity as he attempts to acquire the manly skills he wants to pass on to his newborn son.

From the Book

The smudge looked suspicious. The doctor confirmed: “That’s the baby’s penis!” Joel’s reaction? Pure panic. “I pictured having to go camping and fix a car and use a hammer and throw a football and watch professionals throw footballs and figure out whether to be sad or happy about the results of said football throwing.” And so begins Joel’s quest to confront his effete nature whether he likes it or not (he doesn’t), by doing a 24-hour shift with LA firefighters, going hunting for wild turkeys, rebuilding a house, driving a Lamborghini, enduring three days of boot camp with the U.S. Army, day-trading with $100,000 and going into the ring with UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture. Seeking help from a panel of experts, including his manly father-in-law, Boy Scouts, former NFL star Warren Sapp and some celebrities, he expects to learn that masculinity is not defined by the size of his muscles but by the size of his heart. This is not at all what he learns.

Visit Joel’s website at www.thejoelstein.com

Hear Joel on WFLA at http://www.970wfla.com/player/?mid=22093230

Hear Joel on KOA here www.850koa.com/player/?station=KOA-AM&program_name=podcast&program_id=cmn.xml&mid=22093868

Visit our site at Newman Communications for more Book Publicity information and services.

Radio Promotion for NHL Legends Leading up to Stanley Cup Finals:

Interviewees: Greg Adams, Daryl Evans, Chico Resch, and Ron Greschner
Client: The National Hockey League (NHL)

Summer may just be around the corner but hockey is still hot topic with sports fans! With the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals underway, hockey couldn’t be more exciting! Newman Communications earned a hat trick with our third year working with the NHL to promote the Eastern and Western Conference playoffs leading into the Stanley Cup finals. We had the privilege of coordinating a radio promotion tour for NHL Legends Greg Adams (Phoenix Coyotes),  Daryl Evans (Los Angeles Kings), Chico Resch (New Jersey Devils), and Ron Greschner (New York Rangers).

As part of the publicity tour, Newman was able to secure radio interviews with stations across the country, including:

Greg Adams:

• KMOX
• WMKT
• KTMM

 Daryl Evans:

• FOX Sports Radio
• KXNT
• ESPN 710
• KVEN

Chico Resch:

• KMOX
• WDAE
• WVOX

 Ron Greschner:

• WHUD
• WOR
• CBS Radio’s Overnight America
• WBGO

We had a blast listening to the stories and doing the promotion for all of these players and the NHL.

Visit our site at Newman Communications for more Book Publicity information and services.

Baseball season is currently underway, and we here at Newman Communications have been lucky enough to be part of several baseball book publicity campaigns.

A Peoples History of Baseball

Like the game itself, A People’s History of Baseball is both timely and timeless. The book was featured in places like the Los Angeles Daily News and USA Today. Some original pieces by Nathanson were places in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Mitchell Nathanson is a professor of legal writing at Villanova University School of Law and the author of The Fall of the 1977 Phillies: How a Baseball Team’s Collapse Sunk a City’s Spirit.

Click here to learn more about Mitch

Out of My League - Dirk Hayhurst

New York Times bestselling author of The Bullpen Gospels, Dirk Hayhurst continues his hilarious roller-coaster baseball odyssey when he marries his sweetheart and finally makes it to the Major League in OUT OF MY LEAGUE:  A Rookie’s Survival in the Bigs.

After six years of laying it on the line in the minors, pitcher Dirk Hayhurst hopes 2008 is the year he will break into the big leagues. Then it finally happens—Dirk gets called up to the Majors, to play for theSan DiegoPadres. A dream comes true when he takes the mound against the San Francisco Giants, kicking off forty insane days and nights in the Bigs—with a big paycheck, bigger-than-life personalities, and the biggest pressure he’s ever felt.

OUT OF MY LEAGUE entertains from the first pitch to the last out, capturing the gritty realities of playing on the big stage, the comedy and camaraderie in the dugouts and locker rooms, and the hard-fought, personal journeys that drive our love of America’s favorite pastime.

Out of My League had a successful publicity campaign and appeared in print everywhere from the Cleveland Plain Dealer to the San Diego Union Times. Out of My League was also placed in Deadspin.com and ESPN the Magazine, while Dirk Hayhurst was on ESPN Baseball Today, NPR’s Only A Game and WGN Radio.

Dirk Hayhurst is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Bullpen Gospels. Drafted from Kent State University in 2003 as a senior sign, Hayhurst has pitched professionally for nine years on more than eight minor league teams and two major league teams, including the San Diego Padres and the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2011, he signed with the Tampa Bay Rays and pitched for their Triple-A team, the Durham Bulls, in Durham, NC.

Check out more of Dirk’s writing on his website.

Visit our site at Newman Communications for more Book Publicity information and services.

Need,Speed, and Greed

Need, Speed, and Greed

Author: Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran
Publisher: Harper Business

China Business Editor for the Economist, Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, teamed up with Newman Communications to promote his new book, Need, Speed, and Greed: How the New Rules of Innovation can Transform Businesses, Propel Nations to Greatness, and Tame the World’s Most Wicked Problems (Harper Business). This book promotion tour took the author from Radio appearances to popular blogs and news sites across the web.

With the help of Newman Communications’ book publicity services, Vaitheeswaran traveled the U.S. on his book promotion tour sharing his insights with the media, including:

• KQED’s Forum with Michael Krasny
• Freakonomics.com Blog
• NPR’s Tech Nation
• Investor’s Business Daily
• TheStreet.com
• BBC’s World News America
• CNBC.com Blog post
• The Globe and Mail
• The Motley Fool

About the Book:

Over the past few decades, globalization and Googlization have kicked off the first phase of an innovation revolution more profound and more powerful than any economic force since the arrival of Europeans on North American shores half a millennium ago. These developments have brought us such advances as the Web, social networking, 24/7 connectivity, and global markets.

But the benefits of all this progress have not been shared fairly among all. It is true that the elites of Mumbai are closer today to the elites of Manhattan than they were two decades ago, but what about Kansas? The hard-working salarymen of the developed world are not getting wealthier, but the economic elites who have mastered the new rules of global innovation are. Even as rural women in Africa and Asia have seen their lives transformed by mobile phones and the Internet, the middle classes and blue-collar workers in prosperous countries everywhere have been squeezed by the new global realities. And as the first phase of the innovation revolution gives way to a much greater transformation, America and other rich societies must find a path to inclusive growth or else risk being left behind by history.

All this leads to the central political and economic question of our age: How can the extraordinary benefits of the innovation revolution be shared more equitably among all of society? Need, Speed, and Greed answers that question, offering the essential insider’s guide to this new world of innovation. Drawing on the best of the academic and field work in this emerging area, Vaitheeswaran inspires and empowers readers to improve their lives, their work, and perhaps even the world.

About the Author:

Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran is an award-winning global correspondent for the Economist.  He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an adviser to the World Economic Forum. He is also the author of Zoom: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future (co-authored with Iain Carson), and Power to the People: How the Coming Energy Revolution Will Transform an Industry, Change Our Lives, andMaybe Even Save the Planet.

Visit our site at Newman Communications for more Book Publicity information and services.